Coconut Milk Curry: Kale, Sugar Peas & Almonds

I made this stir fry with almonds, onions, kale and sugar snap peas.  The kale and peas really gave a fantastic texture. Almonds in stir fry?  They worked but weren't as crispy as I wanted.  Next time I'll try and toast them and add to the stir fry at the end.

1. Chop up veggies into bite sized pieces (Kale, Sugar Snap Peas, Onion)
2. Add some grape seed oil (does great with high temperatures) to a fry pan
3. Start with frying the onion for around 4 minutes, then add the peas for another 3 minutes, move the peas & onions to one side of the pan and then add a little bit of veggie broth (or water) to the pan & toss the kale on top, cover the kale side with a lid for about 2 minutes
4. Toss everything together another minute and then add 1/2 can of coconut milk
5. To that add 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce (the good sushi kind), a spoonful of green curry paste, a splash of lime juice and 1-2 tsp of brown sugar
6. Add the almonds (1 handful, try roasting them first) and let all of this simmer for around 5 minutes.
7. Serve over rice.

What's for dinner? Thai Veg, Curried Potato, and Bok Choy

I had the cravings for a dinner with a bit of an Asian influence.  One of my all time favorite ingredients has to be coconut milk.  You can find it everywhere now - but it's the cheapest at Asian grocers.  I bit the bullet and bought some organic stuff this week.  I wouldn't say it always tastes better (especially canned stuff)... but somehow buying organic, fair-trade, and/or local ingredients gives me that 'comfort food' kinda feel.  And something about eating with chopsticks is just so fun.  With good tasting eats - this made for a good meal.

My quick dinner tonight was:

Pan-Fried Curried potatoes - chopped them up, boiled the pieces until mainly cooked, and then pan fried them with oil, added curry paste, and tossed in some Franks hot sauce.

Hoisen Soaked Bok Choy - chop the bok choy into large pieces, add a bit of water to a fry pan, bring to boil, add the bok choy, sprinkle with soy sauce, and then a dd a spoon full of hoisen sauce.  Takes about 5 minutes to cook up; just until the bok choy starts to wilt.

Coconut Milk Curried Veggie - Take one mini-can coconut milk, add some soy sauce, brown sugar, and lemon (balance the three out until you get the right flavor).  Chop up zuchinni, onion and portabello.  Add everything to a fry pan and cook up for about 8 minutes.

I served this with a side of grilled naan bread.

Pumpkin-Potato Coconut Milk Soup

I love making soups.  They are so easy and so delicious.  I used to think you needed a good soup base to start - wrong try again.  You can make soup without so much as a veggie cube.  Here's one of my favorite soups.  Keep in mind that I don't go by recipes so the proportions are approximate - don't worry about getting it perfect - it will be easier than you think.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 Squash (your choice! I like anything orange but others work too)
• 2-3 Large Potato Diced (Or Yams if you got them!)
• 1 Onion Chopped
• 5-6 cups of water (start this boiling while you chop!)
• 1 Can Coconut Milk
• 1-2 Tbsp Curry Powder
• A Pinch of Fresh Sage (if you got it)
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Basil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

1. Cut that squash in half - spoon out the inside cuts & chop off (or peel) the skin.  Chop this up into bite sized pieces.

2. Chop up the Potato (or Yam) into Bit Sized pieces.

3. Toss the Potato & Squash into the boiling water.  Boil for 15 minutes or until soft.

4. While the veg boils chop up the Onion (I like to use Red) and fry this up at Medium until they get a little transparent & soft - I've been happy using Safflower Oil lately for my pan frying.  Half way through frying I like to toss some of the spice right on the onion (your choice).  Once done, add this to the pot of soup along with the rest of the spices

5. Boil at a Medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Half way through add the Coconut Milk & Brown Sugar.

6. Finally fill a blender to 3/4 with the chunky bits of the soup.  Make sure to hold the top bit open on the blender lid or it will fly out with the pressure.  Keep flicking the switch back & forth from off to low quickly until it's blended.  Add this back into the soup.

7. Done - Beautiful Creamy Delicious home made soup.